Union Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad on Thursday said there had been no representation from Maharashtra at meetings conducted by the Centre to discuss the upcoming Union budget. "Chief Minister (Uddhav Thackeray) can't attend meetings now...I can understand his health issues. But whenever meetings were held to discuss the upcoming Union budget, there was no representation from Maharashtra," Karad said.

Karad was talking to reporters after a programme on financial inclusion organized in Aurangabad by Maharashtra Gramin Bank and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). Karad said if the Maharashtra finance minister (Ajit Pawar) can not attend such meetings on the Union budget, he should at least send his deputy.